I have had a fire belly for six months now. With it there are two rainbow tettras, two male fancy tale guppies, and a male betta. All get along well they are in a 10 gallon with six gallons of water. There are plastic plants sticking out of the top so the newt can get out of the water. Gravel bottom.

Ideally I would like my newts tank to have a filter and some aquatic plants. I'd also like a cleaner substrate. I have seen many different options. Some say most anything others say you can't have gravel.

So my question is what other newt keepers have found. Ideally I'd like to use dirt, just seems better IMO, or sand, or cocunut fiber since I already use both for my leopard gecko and these two are cheap. I'd also like a bottom of the tank filter.

Again that's my ideal set up, something that works well to cut down on cleaning. But what I want more than anything us your opinions on what has worked best for you and why.